Tag Archives: let’s make a splash

“We miss out on the value of the message itself as a vehicle for driving virality.”

–

Jonah Berger

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“Say something meaningful in an interesting way.”

–

Bruce McTague

<author of “the shortest business book ever written”>

===================

So.

This is about how we have a simplification crisis.

Ok.

This is about how we have an oversimplification crisis.

This crisis is making us … well … stupid.

Ok.

This crisis is making us stupider.

Look.

What I mean is that in a world in which we know that everything is complex, and more often than not, more complex than our own pea like brains can handle, we unerringly swerve toward simplistic headline conclusions and oversimplifications and absurd bullet point conclusions.

This surface skating intellectualism just makes us stupider.

Now.

We may convince ourselves we do this simply as a mental survival technique but I would argue, and I do, that it actually is the opposite of a survival technique … it is destructive behavior. It is destructive in that it destroys the overall thinking of what is actually a population quite capable of being intelligent, if not intellectual.

Yeah.

It makes us stupider.

I thought about this the other day because I have conversations with some incredibly smart and talented people who know a shitload more about more things than I could ever imagine and this topic came up. I note the smartness of these people to highlight how unusual it is that I can say something that actually can make a group of these people stop, be silent and then go “hmmmmmmmmmm.”

It is a rare thing.

And, yet, it happened the other day.

After some extensive conversation on North Korea, global trade challenges, Trump <of course> & foreign policy we opened the discussion to “what is the biggest challenge facing us …”

And I offered a couple reasons why I believe this is happening <I did this because if you can identify the issues you can find solutions>:

We have convinced ourselves we do not have time for complex

Going back to the ‘destructive behavior’ thought I shared earlier … oversimplification is anything but efficient. It actually demands more time in a variety of ways. The two simplest ways it does so is <1> the time we over invest attempting to isolate the simplest version of what is anything but simple and <2> the amount of time & energy we have to invest explain everything beyond the simplistic tripe initially offered, to thwart misguided behavior & reactions to the oversimplified offering & to redefine the oversimplification into bifurcated parts of the oversimplified whole.

We do this destructive behavior because we have convinced ourselves that we all have shorter, and shortened, attention spans.

We do this destructive behavior because we have convinced ourselves that people best retain “one thing.”

We do this destructive behavior because we have convinced ourselves in our perceived “never enough time” world we have to topline everything <to fit everything in>.

We do this destructive behavior because we have convinced ourselves that in a blizzard of nonstop things constantly vying for our attention the only way to capture someone’s attention is in some pithy soundbite.

Basically we have convinced ourselves that hollowing out an idea and a thought actually benefits not only the idea and the thought … but us!

This is fucking nuts. Absolutely crazy.

Unfortunately, and truthfully, some things are just too complex to communicate in a sound bite or in 3 seconds or less.

No matter how brief and simple you want to make it … well … it is neither brief nor simple. It is complex and sometimes the opposite of brief.

It isn’t just about telling a story.

Nor is it just about finding influencers to broker the story.

Nor is it just about practical value.

Nor is it just about emotion.

Unfortunately it is a combination of those things. Yeah. Effective communication is … uhm … complex.

We have convinced ourselves that simple & simplicity is reflective of common sense.

I admit.

I have never been shy about calling bullshit on the simplistic tripe being spewed under the guise of ‘expert advice’ or ‘common sense.’

That said.

I will suggest no topic has been tortured more by common sense than simplicity.

Common sense suggests the simplest thing is the best.

Common sense suggests it is easier for a person to remember one thing and one word.

Common sense suggests in a complex world we humans crave simplicity.

Common sense suggests in a busy world we only have time for simplicity.

Common sense suggests a lot of nonsensical bullshit.

I will not argue that making something as simple as it can be is good but … well … simplistically … oversimplification is misleading and ultimately creates bad less-than-informed decision making AND thinking.

We have used this common sense simplicity bullshit for one simple reason — it serves us well in challenging the most established legitimate rule of Life & things. And that rule is “the world is complex.”

We embrace simplistic solution after simplistic solution, all labeled as ‘common sense ideas’, which are often counter to what an expert would suggest <which is often deemed “too complex”>… only to find 90% of the time common sense was not only just simply wrong but also made us stupider.

I have written about simplicity and the complexity of finding the simplest way to communicate the complex many times and as I do so today I would remind everyone of what Jonah Berger offered us for a nifty sound bite compilation of sound bites to create a sound bite philosophy:

Here are his STEPPS for making anything go viral:

– Social Currency: We share things that make us look good (even if that means pictures of our cat).

– Triggers: Easily memorable information means its top of mind and tip of the tongue.

– Emotion: When we care, we share.

– Public: Built to show, built to grow.

– Practical Value: News people can use.

– Stories: People are inherent storytellers, and all great brands also learn to tell stories. Information travels under the guise of idle chatter.

And while this is about “making things go viral” it is actually about finding the simplest way to communicate complex shit in a way that it is actually retained in a cognitive way.

I would also note that this dos not reflect “one simple thing”, it does reflect the complexity of reality and the mind and it reflects how to … well … help make us less stupider.

Ah.

Cognitive way.

As in “we actually understand what it is we heard, saw or read.”

That is an important thing to ponder because over simplification cheats cognitive value as well as the value of whatever it is you have to offer people. Simplicity may be “memorable” but it doesn’t really lodge itself in anyone’s mind & memory in any meaningful way.

In fact.

The less depth you offer in your oversimplification the more you are at the mercy of the mind that decides to remember you. What I mean by that is if you don’t provide the depth the mind will create some perceptions around whatever it lodges in the pea like brain.

Uhm.

This means the pea like brain lodges only what is actually the brain’s perceptions of what to remember and not what you <a> know to be true, <b> think it may be important for that mind to know or <c> want the brain to store away in its mind.

I imagine what I am talking about is some wacky version of awareness versus engagement but that shit is bullshit too.

It’s all bullshit because we should be turning away from simplification and engagement and connection and simply focus on “say what you need to say to persuade someone to think or do what you want them to think or do.”

All the other bullshit just confuses things.

If I tell someone that ‘being noticed ‘ is the most important thing, than some asshat is gonna come up with some zany oversimplified shit that gets noticed but doesn’t effectively communicate one thing <let alone all the things you may have deemed truly important in the beginning>.

I admit … I balk at a lot of the bullshit offered online about simplification <and the importance thereof> because … well … it is an oversimplification which diminishes the importance of ‘communicating depth’ and increases the importance of ‘being noticed.’

I do not like that equation.

Effective communication is not a binary choice.

Effective communication, as with almost everything, is a complex challenge in communicating a complex thing well – because if you can communicate a couple things well it actually increases the perceived value <which then inevitably creates a stronger “memory stamp” … with value attached!>.

Which brings me back to our oversimplification crisis.

I could clearly argue that in today’s fragmented messaging world where information multiplies at light speed and a day still remains 24 hours that we humans are constantly honing our “incoming thoughts” filtering mechanisms.

I could also argue that our filtering system, as it exists today, sucks.

We have dumbed down our communication and thinking behavior to such a hollowed out status the majority of time we skate along the superficial irrelevant surface of reality.

If we are lucky, the ice doesn’t crack.

But the truth is that oversimplification only offers the thinnest of ice to skate on and inevitably we fall thru the ice … over and over and over again.

Uhm.

And in the business world falling through the ice is bad. It is, metaphorically, making a bad decision based on shallow thinking and paying for it.

Yeah.

I did say the biggest issue we face is oversimplification.

I said that because if I can solve this, if I can have smarter people communicating complex things more smartly and I can have more everyday schmucks understanding that simple solutions are more often like trying to place a square peg in a round hole … well … I think it unravels a shitload of other problems we face in today’s world.

I imagine I am arguing that if more people are less stupid and more aware of the reality of things the more effective & efficient we will be in addressing the difficulties reality tends to place in front of us.

In the end I will go back to where i began … “say something meaningful in an interesting way.”

There are no rules nor boundaries in this statement.

You use as many words, or as few, as you need to say … to say something meaningful in an interesting way with the intent for it to be understood … and, ultimately, persuade someone to think something.

Effective communication has been, and always will be, complex and complicated … and a good thing for society. Effective communication inevitably feeds into the minds and enlightenment of the listeners. If you dumb down communication inevitably you dumb down the listeners.

Old white men hollowed out communication. I imagine as they hollowed out everything else they found it inherently more productive to gain their objectives by hollowing out communication. Everything became soundbites, powerpoint bullet points and ‘elevator speeches.’ Effectively communicating complexity took on less importance than puncturing the mind with a quick sharp stab <and then walking away>. Old white men mastered the art of emptying communication to a point where businesses end up walking on the slippery surface of irrelevance <cloaked in a beautiful robe called “what is important for you to know.”>

Bruce McTague

————————-

Well.

I may as well fulfill my contrarian obligations immediately – nothing is simple.

Nothing.

Look.

I may be wrong but I think the world would be a shitload ‘righter’ if we just assumed nothing was simple and started acting that way.

The whole idea of simple and simplicity has … well … fucked us up royally. It has almost become an obsession toward which everyone is consumed by until we are either frozen into inaction <this isn’t simple enough> or we hold our “simplicity prize” up high proudly … only to find in our holy quest we discarded some essential items which would have actually helped this ‘simple idea’ live.

We all want to simplify our lives <or at least we talk about it a lot>, simplicity in thinking, simplicity in ideas and simplicity in work … and yet, as a generalization, we all seem to seek every way possible to complicate our lives.

We see simplicity as a way to solve problems and, whew, we are a certainly a ‘people’ of problem solvers <but also problem creators as a corollary>.

And, yet, “it seems simple …” may be the biggest problem of all and may be one of the most misused and misguided statements and thoughts in today’s world.

A good friend of mine, an experienced communications professional, always says “if you are explaining you are losing” as an argument for simplicity. The challenge is that it … well … isn’t an argument for simplicity. It is actually an argument for clearly articulating what you want, and need, to articulate.

In fact … as I will point out later in this rant piece … being too simple actually creates more confusion, therefore, simplicity could actually be creating the explaining.

<oh my>

And that is where the myth of simplification dies. It dies in truth and reality.

Simplicity reality, more often than not, consists of two opposing things – security/reliability, which anchors the sense of safety thereby justifying the common sense aspect of simplicity, & passion/risk/newness, which anchors the sense of movement thereby justifying the smartness aspect of simplicity.

Simplicity reality, more often than not, is an amalgamation of multiple fragments crating a mosaic which is pleasing to the eye <and relatively easy to grasp>.

Simplicity reality, more often than not, consists of some opposing thoughts in that, typically, if you have one… you can’t have the other.

Contrary to simplicity narratives the complexity actually brings in the pragmatism of a simplistic reality <and I would argue effectiveness.>.

All this means is that simplicity is rarely simple and trying to capture it in a meaningful single word or image is … well … not only silly but sells the depth & breadth of a decision or situation or idea or thought … or reality itself … short.

Reality is complex.

Life is complex.

Most ideas and thoughts are complex.

And there is no simple solution to complexity.

Simple is hard.

It is hard because sometimes, okay, most times simplicity is arrived at by distilling complex solutions/ideas down to its most efficient form.

I would note that from my own business experience I would say that many times simplicity ideas can only be found from checking out all of the different solutions. And after sifting through everything simplicity is more often found in a “doh” moment <not an “ah ha!” moment> in that you may be surprised by the fact simplicity is just the thing that makes the most sense at the end of the day.

And why is simple THAT hard?

Well.

Al Einstein said, “Make things as simple as can be—but not simpler.”

Geez.

So simple isn’t the least.

It may actually be somewhere above the least and significantly below the most <complex>.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek simplicity. But what it does mean is that simple or simplicity shouldn’t be defined by rules or milestones or trite “say it in 10 seconds or less” dictates or, well, any boundaries.

Simplicity defines itself it is not defined. Simplicity is reflective of the time, place, people, situation and solution needed.

Ponder that my friends.

What may make simplicity even more complex is, oddly enough, that part which should make it the simplest.

Simplicity, more often than not, is the nitty gritty stuff and not the more glamorous big vision or “big idea” stuff. It is about marrying principle and pragmatism and gradual improvement – piece by piece and part by part.

To me, simple and simplicity tends to be found in shit that most people would think has nothing to do with simple:

Coalesce fragments

“The whole is simpler than the sum of its parts.

–

Willard Gibbs

I think people would be much better off f they understood that while simple may be represented in ‘one thing’ it is actually representative of many things.

The best of the best ‘simplicity finders’ are the ones who are the best at coalescing fragments. Gathering up disparate pieces of information and figuring out how to make them whole in a way that

Box in complexity

Let me begin by paraphrasing a quote about how Sylvia Plath wrote…

“Whether Plath wrote about nature, or about the social restrictions on individuals, she stripped away the polite veneer. She let her writing express elemental forces and primeval fears. In doing so, she laid bare the contradictions that tore apart appearance and hinted at some of the tensions hovering just beneath the surface of the American way of life.”

Margaret Rees

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I used the quote because far too many people think simplicity is about stripping away things to showcase the core instead maybe they should be thinking about stripping away the veneer so that the truth can be laid bare.

Let me explain <you will not agree with this if you do not agree that simplicity is a ‘whole made up of fragments’>.

Simplicity, to me, is about using the complex parts to box in the whole.

You either:

Bracket what you want to offer <simplicity resides within two opposing thoughts>.

Triangulate what you want to offer <simplicity resides in the middle>.

Box in what you want to offer <simplicity gets squeezed into middle>.

Now.

Some people may use what I just shared and say “simplicity is the distillation” and I would push back by suggesting “simplicity is reflective of all the parts as it shows the whole.”

Am I parsing words?

Maybe.

But when someone says ‘show a picture’ or ‘say it in 5 seconds or you lose them’ and be done with it … I just don’t think it is that simple. Simple stimuli are just as likely to confuse. Provide ambiguity. Generate a feeling of ‘lesser than’ <”I am missing something of value or I missed the opportunity to showcase some value”>.

— note: there is a lot of research supporting this thought —

Look.

Our minds are like real estate.

Space is limited and we can’t let every thought, idea, product, person or whatever have a place to stay.

That means where the rubber hits the road with regard to being simple and simplicity is that it must create some connection with whomever is touching that simplicity

I will end with Chopin. Chopin is one of my favorite classical composers. I seriously doubt anyone who has ever looked at any of his sheet music would suggest his music was not complex. And, yet, close your eyes and listen … it contains a simplicity that connects.

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“Simplicity is the final achievement.

After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.”

—

Frédéric Chopin

====================

All I know is that we have totally fucked up the idea of simplicity to a point where simple, or simplicity, is more a myth than reality. This myth has hollowed us out – hollowed our thinking, our communication and our culture.

Most of the worthwhile things in Life are not hollow … they have depth & breadth … they are … well … complex.

Reality is complex.

Life is complex.

Most ideas and thoughts are complex.

And there is no simple solution to complexity but I would suggest that the beauty can be found in the breakdown of the complex to its simplest form.

“I wish I had the courage not to fight and doubt everything… I wish, just once, I could say, ‘This. This is good enough. Just because I choose it.”

―

Chuck Palahniuk

===============

So.

Let me very clear upfront … while this piece will be on Russian involvement in the 2016 USA presidential election I am not discussing, nor suggesting, collusion or coordination of efforts between anything I will outline and the Trump campaign.

The analysis of that will be done by greater minds than mine.

This piece is about what Russia did and the effect on the 2016 election. Let’s call this an analysis of the Russian marketing campaign to support Donald J Trump.

I have the fortune to exchange ideas, on occasion, with some highly qualified intelligence experts and foreign policy thought leaders and all of them continuously grapple not with what Russia did but more so with how to talk about it.

Which leads me to the horrible position that I find myself in <and I imagine any professional communications person with any significant experience is in>.

We know that Russia most likely influenced enough voters to have elected Donald J Trump.

There.

I said it.

The one sentence which seems to be on the lips of almost any credible thinking individual but never seems to be spoken.

This has nothing to do whether I believe he is qualified or not … this is just a conclusion that anyone who knows shit about marketing & advertising has arrived at if they look at the campaign. It took me a while to get there because the overarching narrative ‘cover’ for the election is, and always has been, “Russia never changed a vote or made someone do anything.” While I knew marketing people would debate the seeming lack of understanding in the concept of ‘ability to affect behavior’ it was easier to focus on the truth Russia never got into actual voting machines and changed votes.

This means it just took me a lot longer to get to the truth that many of my peers had already arrived at.

…. I did not want to know this ………..

Whew.

Russia changed votes and voting behavior.

What knowledge to have.

What a wretched position to be in … to be a professional communications person and a believer in America democracy … that is the horrible position many of us find ourselves in.

Why?

Well.

The majority of us know, if we view it through a professional lens, that the Russians communications <propaganda> effort most likely put Donald J Trump into the presidency … and we don’t know what to do and say about it.

Why?

Think about the outcome of this presentation. The main one would be that many people would believe Donald J was not a legitimate president or legitimately elected. And that would be … well … horrible. Horrible for the country, horrible for democracy and … well … just horrible.

I could open this presentation by suggesting Clinton campaign ran a slightly less than effective as it could have marketing campaign but I would have to showcase how the Trump campaign, in and of itself, did not do enough to win. I would then have to point out that an overlaid Russian marketing campaign <which diminished Clinton to suppress behavior in her favor> made the difference at the finish line.

And before anyone argues with that premise please remember that with 136 million votes cast, Trump’s victory came down to a razor-thin edge of only 77,744 votes across three states: Pennsylvania (44,292 votes), Wisconsin (22,748 votes), and Michigan (10,704 votes) – all less than .7% difference between the two candidates and, if reversed, Clinton would be our president.

The 2016 election result is really all about the fact that there was just enough movement in just the right places, with just enough increased turnout from just the right groups, to get Trump the electoral votes he needed to win.

Regardless.

Block by block the truth fell into place. But what make this conclusion truly horrible is … well … what do you do with that knowledge?

It does no good to suggest the current president is illegitimate. None. Zero.

Look.

I am not making this up.

While others look at this in some vague “what could they do to make someone vote a certain way” I look at this from a marketing perspective where I have sat in meeting after meeting analyzing marketing campaigns and tactics to watch what levers <tactics & messages>have been pulled to get someone to do something they may not have considered doing before.

The first ‘block’ was, of course, when the US government warned us that 17 intelligence agencies <or 4 with others tentatively agreeing, or whatever number you want depending on your cynicism but suffice it to say the US Intelligence agencies are aligned in some form or fashion> agreed Russia was fucking within our election. They didn’t go into details but rather just said “they, they are doing this” <and did some behind the scenes stuff to deflect some things they did>.

I would also note that this is where “marketing doesn’t affect my behavior’ attitudes started digging in within the general population.

… in addition to phishing and cracking attacks, these hackers are aided by honeypots, a Cold War term of art referring to an espionage operative who sexually seduced or compromised targets. Today’s honeypots may include a component of sexual appeal or attraction, but they just as often appear to be people who share a target’s political views, obscure personal hobbies, or issues related to family history. Through direct messaging or email conversations, honeypots seek to engage the target in conversations seemingly unrelated to national security or political influence.

These honeypots often appear as friends on social media sites, sending direct messages to their targets to lower their defenses through social engineering. After winning trust, honeypots have been observed taking part in a range of behaviors, including sharing content from white and gray active measures websites

Online hecklers, commonly referred to as trolls, energize Russia’s active measures. Ringleader accounts designed to look like real people push organized harassment — including threats of violence — designed to discredit or silence people who wield influence in targeted realms, such as foreign policy or the Syrian civil war. Once the organized hecklers select a target, a variety of volunteers will join in, often out of simple antisocial tendencies. Sometimes, they join in as a result of the target’s gender, religion, or ethnic background, with anti-Semitic and misogynistic trolling particularly prevalent at the moment. Our family members and colleagues have been targeted and trolled in this manner via Facebook and other social media.

Hecklers and honeypots can also overlap.

—————————–

The experts at WarontheRocks know their shit and I stored away their analysis.

The third ‘block’ occurred when a Bernie Sanders social media coordinator published a report of how he watched online trolls aggressively message against Clinton to Sanders supporters:

He <Mattes> put his expertise in unmasking fraudsters to work. At first, he suspected that the sites were created by the old Clinton haters from the ‘90s ― what Hillary Clinton had dubbed “the vast right-wing conspiracy.”

But when Mattes started tracking down the sites’ domain registrations, the trail led to Macedonia and Albania. In mid-September, he emailed a few of his private investigator friends with a list of the sites. “Very creepy and i do not think Koch brothers,” he wrote.

Mattes and his friends didn’t know what to make of his findings. He couldn’t get his mind around the possibility that trolls overseas might be trying to sway a bunch of Southern Californians who supported Sanders’ run for president. “I may be a dark cynic and I may have been an investigative reporter for a long time, but this was too dark ― and too unbelievable and most upsetting,” he said. “What was I to do with this?”

By late October, Mattes said he’d traced 40 percent of the domain registrations for the fake news sites he saw popping up on pro-Sanders pages back to Eastern Europe. Others appeared to be based in Panama and the U.S., or were untraceable. He wondered, “Am I the only person that sees all this crap floating through these Bernie pages?”

And the final ‘block’ was an 84 page white paper issued by the cyber security firm, TrendMicro, which outlined how easy it was to implement a ‘fake news’ marketing campaign with costs & efforts taken by Russia to influence people not only in America but globally.

That did it for me.

Let me call my ‘4 blocks’ as the cornerstones of the building of proof. I am a marketing guy and an amateur behavioral studier with decades of experience and I can see a marketing campaign when there is one … and I can see when a good one is being implemented in ‘below-the-line’ tactics pushing & nudging people to do things … and I can see one once I have been presented the cornerstones of proof.

This is that.

And this is a horrible thing to recognize.

Oddly enough … our founding fathers worried about this.

In constructing the Constitution the crafters were cognizant, and worried about, how easily people could be led, and led astray. That is why they constructed a three ‘power’ system <executive, judiciary & representative> to insure a President never had access to too much power.

In some ways they assumed at some point in history American citizens would not choose wisely.

As a marketing guy I can honestly tell you that I have sat in hundreds of conference rooms viewing behavioral data pondering choice after choice people made that were reflections of “not in my best interest” … information that reflected time after time … people do not choose wisely.

While that is marketing stuff we should all remember what James Madison said … “liberties are more frequently lost by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power.” That is what the worst of worst marketing is about … making some people choose less than wisely through a gradual and silent encroachment into someone’s decision making process.

To be clear.

I think Trump is inept, incompetent and unqualified but this is not about that.

This is about how Russia affected enough people’s attitudes to affect their behavior … and many of us quasi-experts, and many real experts, believe Russia conducted a marketing campaign that did just enough to affect people’s voting behavior to effectively put Trump in the oval office.

To be clear.

None of us know what to do with this understanding. This is a horrible position to be in. No one wants to suggest the current president is not legitimate and, yet, the truth is that he most likely gained his position through some shady illegitimate ways.

I just wanted to write you a letter to bring it to your attention, in case you have not noticed; you really are the president … now.

Yes. You did get elected.

Yes. That new office you get your diet coke in is oval because all US Presidents have sat in that oval office.

Yes. That big eagle on your floor rug is not really your style <albeit I believe it does have gold in it> but it is a sign that, yes, you got elected and that emblem is part of the seal of the United State of America.

I have been meaning to write this to you for quite some time, but I felt compelled to write this letter to you today because yesterday, in the wake of the London terrorist attacks, you seemed to forget you were president for a while.

And that seems indicative of, well, all your behavior since last November <with some small moments in which we got tantalizing glimpses you actually recognized that you were now responsible for 330 million people>.

Last night you took the opportunity while watching the attacks unfold to retweet a Drudge article and a personal tweet about your own travel ban. I am tempted to suggest they were simply tweets of an ignorant idiot, full of sound and fury, simplifying nothing … but I will not. I will use the tweets to remind you that you really are now a president and the president of a certain country called “The United State of America.”

A while back I told you how to do your job because you seemed to be struggling and I thought there were some simple things you could do to rectify your current situation. Today I will simply remind you of some things you may not know about your new job:

Tweets

I really wouldn’t mind you tweeting if you didn’t tweet like a bitter husband drunk late at night just after his wife had left him. The problem is that you do … and you are not drunk and for some reason your wife has not left you. I have given up trying to convince you that words matter <even the ones you make up> so maybe we could have you work on thinking a little less like an idiotic bitter drunk husband and maybe have you think about the fact you really are a President who shouldn’t be bitter about anything and whose wife has not left him <yet>.

I do take some solace in the fact that, for the most part, your drunken bitter idiot-in-chief tweets are becoming irrelevant to the outside world. Beyond media … most simply ignore you the best they can. My main proof? You offer some word salad twisted thought and Wall Street barely responds these days.

On that note. I would suggest that being President and being ignored kind of suggests you are becoming irrelevant. That seems bad <sad>.

I would never suggest you stop tweeting. Hell. It is the best entertainment we have had in years. Maybe you could just consider in the future to just be a little less bitter, maybe sound a little less drunk, and maybe a little less “I am unwanted and unworthy of the love that has left me” and more … well … “holy shit, I am the President.”

That’s all I ask. But I am just an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

Infinite resources

I am dependent upon ‘fair & balanced’ FoxNews, NBC, fake news CNN, Drudge, National Review, Reuters, Guardian and even the failing NY Times for my information.

You are not.

………… Trump picking up phone …….

Mr. President you can actually push a little button right there on the phone next to your canopied bed with throw pillows that have those ruffles you like and maroon sateen sheets and you can most likely have the worlds best intelligence community brief you on what may be happening. You even have a Homeland Security department who could most likely tell you if there are any existing threats which you could tweet America about to calm nerves <and I bet they have a button too>.

In addition you have an Environmental Agency who has a multitude of well researched analysis to offer numbers and results from. You have a Labor Department who has an incredible history of measuring the workplace environment which you have access to for numbers and information <those last two are probably not worthy of buttons on your phone … sorry>.

You may not know it but you also have a State Department with real people in real buildings <some people call them embassies> who have real on-the-ground knowledge of where they are that are most likely to be delighted to speak with you 24/7.

I imagine my real point, Mr. President, is … well … you are no longer an everyday schmuck dependent upon whatever information you can scrounge up on your own surfing the world wide web <yes, it is now worldwide> or scanning FoxNews in the morning. You are the President and you have dozens of departments with thousands of extremely qualified people who have reams of knowledge and data and information at their fingertips at the simple push of a button <and they even know more shit before the people on TV do>.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

One dollar bill suggestion

Mr. President, just a suggestion. Tape a dollar bill to your desk <and, under my breath, ‘read it you asshat’>:

E Pluribus Unum.

Out of many, one.

I make this suggestion because I know you love money above everything else and maybe the one dollar bill can help, well, center you a little.

It is a fabulous little document in and of itself … think of it as a PowerPoint slide with few words and a killer image.

I would also note the second Latin motto on that same image … novus ordo seclorum <a new order of the ages> which signifies “the beginning of the new American Era.”

Both of those thoughts may remind you that you represent 330 million or so and, well , a country. It may also help to keep this humble little one dollar nearby as a symbol of small certainty as you, I would imagine, are a little uncertain as you try and make the giant leap from everyday schmuck to President.

Now.

I will admit, Mr. President, while I am sympathetic to your uncertainty I wish you would get a grip on it because it, well, creates a sense of uncertainty in the country.

I would ask you to remember, in general, uncertainty is certainly a bitch to a general population. The larger issue is that uncertainty makes people feel poorer <even when they are not>, more divided <even when they are not>, less safe <even though they are not> and less hopeful with regard to the future <even when they should see signs of hope>.

I would also suggest that, in this time & place, this uncertainty has been compounded by the fact we don’t trust anyone on anything <media included> … don’t trust anyone to do what they are supposed to do <government included> … and don’t even trust what was done when they actually do what they were supposed to do <anyone associated with any institution>. Uhm. I hesitate to tell you this but, whew, a shitload of people don’t really trust you either.

All that said. You know what everyone trusts in this wretched place where no one does anything right and is stupid or dishonest or corrupt? The one dollar bill. It is a simplistic symbol of certainty and trust. It may be that you could use his taped one dollar bill to focus you a little.

Now. You may not know it but there was a guy named Booker Washington who said … ““… be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” <just a note: this guys is dead>. I know that may be a big thought for you so maybe I can dumb it down for you … think of it as if you have 5 one dollar bills, you can also then have a $5 dollar bill. Separate as ones but one as a $5. You see what I mean? Maybe if you look at that one dollar bill every day maybe you can start thinking ‘out of many one’ and be a President for all the $5’s, $20’s & $50’s rather than just a couple of ones.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

Thank you for your time today.

I am sorry I didn’t include bullet points and killer images & graphs <which I hear you like> but maybe Melania can read this to you.

Dear Mr. President, I cannot promise I will leave you alone after this letter. You seem to not only not know how to do your fucking job but you also seem to forget you are not an everyday schmuck <no matter how many of us wished you were>. I promise I will leave you alone when you fully recognize that you are now a big bad powerful man. You now not only lead America but, if you would elect to do so, you could actually lead in the world.

I do worry, on occasion, that your view of leadership and mine do not really coincide. You seem to feel that creating a transactional relationship is the same thing as creating a “leadership” relationship. That kind of feels like the same logic some misguide businesses use to recruit talented young people with cool laptops, flex time, free lunches … and not vision. Frankly, that doesn’t really foster any type of loyalty, it doesn’t really drive any company value and … well … it is killing the idea of leadership by a thousand cuts.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

I also worry that by choosing to remain an everyday schmuck you are finding whatever scraps in what you have done to make yourself believe you are doing good things … and you are holding on to them tightly like your teddy bear at night for comfort <in your canopied bed with sateen sheets>. I can assure you that you will need those scraps for comfort at some point if you don’t realize that is what we everyday schmucks do to comfort ourselves … but presidents kind of need to find more than scraps to hold onto.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

And, lastly, dear Mr. President, I worry that many of the world’s leaders are realizing you are just bluster and bullshit. I am fairly sure they weren’t sure in the beginning but now they know. But, Mr. President, I know you are better than that <I say with fingers crossed> and all of a sudden you will realize you are not an everyday schmuck but rather the President.

But what do I know … I am everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

I am sending you my letter today hoping that my sincere thoughts help you realize this.

Mr. President, you have probably done over 100 things, okay, thousands of things over the past year or so which make me sure you are unqualified to be the country leader <and make me doubt you could lead a turd out of a flushed toilet>, makes me sure I dislike your business acumen and makes me sure your moral compass <assuming you even have one> is not working.

I would imagine if you remain an everyday schmuck, in your own mind you will, well, feel exactly the same way.

But … you really are the President. You really did get elected. You can start acting like a President any time you want and most of us every day schmucks will line up behind you when you do because, well, you really are the President of the United States.

All the best.

Bruce.

P.S. – Mr. President, as I read some of your tweets this morning, the morning after the London terror attacks, I have to ask you … what is wrong with you?

===================

“Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.“

“All the animals, the plants, the minerals, even other kinds of men, are being broken and reassembled every day, to preserve an elite few, who are the loudest to theorize on freedom, but the least free of all.”

―

Thomas Pynchon

===============

Uhm.

“Normalizing your boss.”

I would say 95% of us who have had the opportunity to weave our way through corporate America to reach a senior level position have been forced to normalize the behavior of one of our bosses.

Some more than others … but in some ways you become a normalizer, or a translator or maybe sometimes you simply sweep up the mess they left behind.

That’s just what you do … uhm … assuming that boss actually has some redeeming value. As you get closer and closer to the most senior positions it becomes more and more obvious that gaining responsibility doesn’t always smooth out the edges of someone but rather more often makes that person lean harder on the specific aspects which they can use to meet the growing responsibilities. Yeah. Many leaders don’t “round out their skills & character” <and become a well-rounded leader> but rather hone the pointed skills that provide value <sacrificing some other skills & attributes along the way>.

But then … well … you run up against the ‘bull shitter in chief.’ Maybe they got their position through some family contact. Maybe they were a psychopathic ‘kill or be killed’ employee who successfully killed off any competent competitors for the position or maybe out of sheer organizational incompetence they rose to a position in which they are completely unqualified for.

All they have in their hip pocket is more bullshit.

But they are your boss.

Whew.

Defending selectively incompetent behavior is one thing. Defending ongoing bull shit is another. Why? The former can actually enhance your reputation <and improve your own skills as you provide solutions in real time> while the latter only diminishes your reputation.

Yeah.

I am sure some people will debate what I just wrote but I would suggest they will only end up quibbling over my phrasing and not the truth behind the thought.

Reputation is not a simple concept. Your reputation is made up of a variety of things which means you can fuck up in one place but offering a strength in another situation simply builds your reputation unevenly <which can be managed if you are self-aware>. The problem with normalizing a bull shitter’s incompetent behavior is that you aren’t shoring up selective incompetence/deficiencies you are actually forced to normalize their behavior by offering an alternative truth to whatever bullshit truth they advocated on all fronts – not selective.

I imagine the majority of us have never really faced this either <a> as a full onslaught from an incompetent boss — because most organizations weed out this problem fairly efficiently or <b> for long <most bull shitters get exposed by ambitious less senior competent no-nonsense fairly quickly>.

But, yet, I tend to believe in our nightmare scenarios in our minds we worry about what we would do if faced with an ongoing incompetent bull shitter boss scenario.

Personally <and anyone who knows me will probably nod their head and go ‘yeah’> I wouldn’t be able to do it. I would actually call bullshit <and get fired or ‘eased into a different responsibility’>.

But, even that said, having been in a quasi-position like this you have a tendency to take on each bullshit situation as discrete from another and avoid any real pattern of behavior until forced to actually face a pattern of behavior. That is how we deal with it … and that is also the personal risk we run as we ignore the larger situation rationalizing it in our own minds as ‘discrete scraps of irresponsible incompetent boss behavior.’

Beyond the fact the trip was bookended with a self-proclaimed “big foreign trip” and a self-proclaimed self-reported “home run” in between there were a number of cringe-able moments in which people were demanded to stand up and become responsible for defending or explaining some tone-deaf remark, some historically ignorant comment or some insensitive gaffe that the president did over the entire big adventure.

Was it the bullying body language he demonstrated at the NATO summit, shoving aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro? <a small country that I am fairly sure the president has no clue where it is>

Was it his apparent unawareness of where Israel is located, an ignorance displayed when he informed an audience of Israelis that he’d “just got back from the Middle East”?

Was it his seeming indifference to the difference between “Islamist” and “Islamic” in front of an Islam audience <a mistake he blamed on exhaustion on the 2nd day of a trip … “does he have the stamina?”>

Was it his belief that after stating for months that NATO was obsolete that it was unnecessary to verbally state USA unequivocally stood with its NATO partners?

Was it his constant misstatements with regard to how NATO actually works?

Was it after a less than 30 minute visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, which <or any Holocaust museum> has a nasty habit of bringing people to tears or, at minimum, some deep reflection with regard to humanity and the sometimes startling cruelty humans can inflict upon one another … he left an absurdly out of touch positive note in the memorial’s Book of Remembrance – “It is a great honor to be here with all my friends – so amazing and will never forget!”

Was it his odd alternative universe in which he suggests he has “righted people’s views of where America stands with friends & enemies after a misguided 8 Obama years” where Saudi Arabia is a good friend <let’s avoid they have none of the freedoms America typically support> and where Germany is described as “bad” <albeit only their trade deals … uhm … and their views on immigration … uhm … and their views on globalism>.

Was it his unflinching ability to lie to the face of the world’s newest democratic leader Macron by unequivocally falsely, in a sincere voice, stating “I was for you.”

Or, finally, was it the overarching sadness <to most Americans> in watching the seeming shift to ‘pragmatic relationships policy” <ones in which money exchange defines who we like and who we do not like> in which we find ourselves watching our leaders partying with disciplined non democratic autocrats and constantly showing uneasiness and sincere lack of warmth in interactions with the world’s finest democratic leaders.

Sigh.

Here is what I know <about not only Trump but normalizing a boss’s behavior>.

If I were working for Trump I would find it hard to read any news … but particularly European newspapers … without cringing and certainly being embarrassed.

But if Trump were my boss where I would be most concerned is that he would be using me to lend some legitimacy … because he was seriously lacking in any legitimacy.

And that is where one needs to step back and worry about their reputation.

Because lending credibility for a boss who has selective competency is different than lending credibility for a … well … “bull shitter in chief” boss.

As one article put it well … “seasoned people simply lend an air of occasional competence to an otherwise shambolic White House. By appearing before the cameras, looking serious and speaking rationally, they add a veneer of normality to this administration.”

And maybe that is where this whole thing ends up.

It is not about us, the people and media, accepting Donald J Trump’s behavior or getting numbed into believing it is normal … it will be about experienced competent people deciding how much they want to normalize his behavior. This whole situation is not really about a decision on what is best for America <although they will certainly be forced into thinking about that>, but rather their own reputation.

Good competent people will be standing there knowing they can contribute to <a> doing what is right and <b> herding an incompetent boss … both of which America in a larger context benefits … and, yet, they stand there watching their own reputations slowly slip away … drip by drip … word by word.

Good competent people can normalize selective incompetence but they will struggle to normalize a ‘bull shitter’ whose only competence is ongoing ignorance. At some point people will begin questioning your own competence as you continuously articulate some semblance of nonsensical normalcy and they will definitely start questioning … well … your integrity or character.

And then what do you do? Because, in the end, that is what you are left with – just you & your character.

Why?

Because, frankly, no matter how skilled you are a shitload of people in this world are just as experienced as you are and a lot of people are skilled and competent just like you … therefore you get judged, ultimately, on what you did when faced with a situation — did you speak up?

Did you defend the wrong and indefensible? Did you do what was right?

I am not suggesting this is easy.

In fact … a good bull shitter can offer such an elegant smoke screen it can offer the competent some cover so they can offer up some truth and competence in a way that … well … is true & competent.

However, in the end, the difficulty resides in the smoke itself.

Because at some point every competent person associated with a bull shitter is asked to explain the smoke … and … well … how do I explain the smoke?

You cant. And, worse? You cannot put out the fire.

Good people, no matter how good, will choke on the smoke eventually.

….. choice when working for a bullshitter in chief ……

And, let’s be clear, no one wants to see good people die.

It is painful to watch. It is painful to watch good competent people being broken and reassembled every day, to preserve someone, who are the loudest to theorize on freedom, but the least free of all.”

That is the personal choice one makes when normalizing a boss … how much smoke is there and will I choke from the smoke they make?

I cannot offer a well-defined “here is how you know and what you should do” today because … well … this is a personal choice. But no matter who you are and where you are … watching good competent people standing in the smoke being demanded to define a smoke, not of their own making, is painful. And sad. .

This morning I laughed out loud. With all the discussion about who is going to pay for “the wall” <“who will pay !!??!! … MEXICO!!!!! – says Trump> and claims Mexico will pay for it … the USA is actually now paying Mexico a one-time payment of almost 200 million dollars … uhm … per year because of a trade issue in which the USA purportedly screwed another trade partner.

Hey.

Hold on.

Isn’t it that everyone else is screwing <taking advantage> of America?

Oh.

That must be the alternative universe.

—————-

The U.S. just lost a trade battle with Mexico. It’s the first loss of the Trump era.

Mexico and the U.S. have fought for years over tuna. The U.S. insists that any Mexican tuna sold in the U.S. must be “dolphin safe,” meaning dolphins weren’t killed by tuna fisherman, which was once common. Mexico says its fisherman play by the rules. The U.S. government disagrees.

On Tuesday, the World Trade Organization ruled in Mexico’s favor, allowing it to impose trade sanctions worth $163 million a year against the U.S. The WTO says that’s how much money Mexico has lost from the U.S. unfairly penalizing Mexican tuna.

The timing, however coincidental, is sensitive. President Trump wants to renegotiate NAFTA, the free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

——————

Look.

I will admit.

I believe building a ‘wall’ between Mexico and USA is stupid. To be clear … I am actually taking Donald J Trump at his word and assessing the idea as a “big, beautiful physical wall.”

And you know what? Even though I think the wall is stupid he is president and if he truly believes the wall would be effective in some way … his call.

But the issue is not really whether the wall is simply stupid or not. This is about ROI, budgeting money and business decision making.

We all, as everyday schmucks, make some fairly poor decisions with regard to how we spend our money. Just so everyone knows … that lack of responsible budgeting does not magically disappear when you became a high falutin’ business leader. While I have tried to limit the poor discretionary budget spending … yeah … I have made some less-than-smart expenditures in business <in my defense … I have seen worse decisions>.

But as a business leader you are demanded to look at the money you have available, assess priorities and assign funds.

I say that because even if I stand on my head while looking at USA funding needs and the monies available I cannot envision how I would prioritize a ‘big, beautiful wall’ over … well … a shitload of things.

Every dollar I spend on ‘the big, beautiful wall’ is a dollar I cannot spend on lowering the deficit, maybe some infrastructure, any healthcare initiative, maybe some program for lower income households … you get it.

But it appears in this alternative universe that it seems the entire Trump clan lives in ‘the big , beautiful wall’ is representative of ‘the brand’ or ‘fulfilling a promise’ in which it gains so much value in an ROI analysis it pays out over all the other things it is assessed against.

Frankly, I don’t live in that alternative world.

In my world we have things to do and not enough money to do it all <which is a common issue in every business>, I just paid Mexico almost 200 million dollars <and they will not pay us to build the wall> and I have a so-called experienced business leader president who don’t seem to understand that budgeting is about prioritizing and that means tough choices and that means explaining the tough choices.

In my world, as a business person, I have found that when I stood up in front of people and said “I have said we would do these things, we have $10, this is how I prioritize the $10, this means we cannot do some of the things I said before but hopefully we get to it if we ever get $20” that most people don’t look at you as “not fulfilling a promise” but rather “good business decision maker.”

I suggested this <even though I do not agree with the Wall but tried to offer him a compromise position>:

=======

Immigration part 2: the wall

It is our border. It is our responsibility. We will pay for it.

We will build a physical wall of constructed wall as well as a people wall. We will increase existing fencing, support it with additional physical wall construction in strategic areas and hire an additional 5000 border agents to manage the border wall.

Now.

I will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for several things:

From this day forward the smart illegal immigrants who beat our wall that we catch we will deport. We ask Mexico to reimburse us for legal and transportation costs. Let’s call this our expense report for returning their citizens.

Because we would like to encourage gainful employment of Mexican citizens so that they do not try and illegally immigrate to our great booming economy <which only I can create> we would like to earn an employment incentive assessment on each Mexican employee our USA companies hire at their facilities in Mexico.

==============

Regardless.

Yeah.

I laughed out loud this morning.

I never thought Mexico would ever pay for ‘the wall’ but I truly never thought we would actually pay Mexico AND have to pay for our own stupid wall.

Anyway.

I will end this ironic thought for the day with … well … building & being architects of fate.

“The world is full of stories, and from time to time they permit themselves to be told …”

—–

An aboriginal saying

=============

I believe that the magic and power of a story can encourage and fascinate you.

In prehistory, outside the cave it was dark, but inside they had a fire and somebody was good at telling stories.

Every time I write, I think of the cave.

We are one group, outside it’s dark and wolves are howling, but I have a story to tell.

—–

Haruki Murakami

===========

Ok.

It’s difficult to discuss stories too often.

The fact is that being able to tell a story … okay … tell the story you want … well … is possibly one of the most important skills anyone can have – in life or in business.

But let me stay on the business side of stories.

Throughout my career I have had the fortune to work with the most unglamorous products & companies you could ever think of <industrial products, commodity like machinery, etc.> and some fairly glamourous products & companies.

What they all have in common is that they have a story to tell … and when told well it makes them successful — in sales, in market place positioning, in competitive scenarios, in public discussions, etc.

I used to think storytelling was so natural to everyone I assumed everyone would want to tell their story … or maybe better said … talk about their business, their company, their product … as a story.

I no longer think that.

I haven’t figured out if it is that not everyone can actually tell a good story or that business has beaten the shit out of people so badly that the default articulation is a list of functional features and pragmatic benefits. What I do know is that business storytelling, in general, sucks.

It is absolutely horrible.

Meaningless metaphors and less-than-relevant analogies and misused quotes are scattered among the useful functional and pragmatic in the attempt to elevate that which is usefully boring to interestingly useful.

And because that is the case … well … most people either think storytelling is really really hard or that storytelling really has no place in what they are doing.

That is nuts.

The truth is you can take the most boring of boring, the most functional of functional & most ‘seemingly same of seemingly same’ and wrap it within a story and it … well … becomes compelling, interesting and distinct.

The truth is any business contains the essential parts to create a story … heroes, villains, vivid demonstrations or metaphors, life & death and even mysteries and solutions.

The truth is anyone can tell a story <it is possible that not everyone can write a story though>.

In fact … I feel relatively confident is stating that a good story to tell makes everyone better & more interesting.

I do not care what industry you work within or what type of product or service you sell or represent your word is full of stories … and, most likely, a fabulous story just asking for permission to be told.

All that said.

Someone is most likely sitting somewhere scratching their head thinking … “WTF, that sounds good but I have no clue what to do.”

Aw.

You do.

You do know what to do.

Stop thinking about selling your idea or selling your product/service or even selling your company … think about telling a story.

Shit.

I could work for a nuts & bolts manufacturer and be able to put a picture of two nuts & bolts side by side <one mine and one someone else’s> which look 99.9% exactly the same … and be able to say … “Let me tell you a story about this nut & bolt … because its story is different than this nut & bolt. They look the same but their story is different.”

Oh.

And my story wouldn’t be solely some manufacturing mumbo jumbo but rather a story about who counted on it and how my nut & bolt was the best friend to someone and … well … you get the point.

Unfortunately we don’t seem to be in the storytelling business in business these days.

Instead we bore down on manufacturing specifications, stress quotients, side by side rankings and a whole bunch of technically important functional aspects.

And you know what?

That shit is important.

Really important.

To be sure … if it is my nut & bolt holding a wing on some plane carrying 300 passengers you can bet your last dollar the technical aspects of my nuts & bolts matter. I don’t argue that.

What I argue is HOW the technical aspects are articulated and delivered. What I argue is that if I can make my nuts & bolts look like a city of ideas through some story … I win.

Stories make presentations more interesting.

Stories make bland functional aspects take on some color <which equals value>.

Stories persuade people think <and thinking equals engagement>.

Stories to motivate us to see beyond the simple nut & bolt.

Suffice it to say … what you say is lost if you do not master how you say it.

Storytelling has been a mainstay of the marketing world since … well … forever.

And while it tries to sneak into the non-marketing aspects of the business world it often gets stiff armed by functional communicators – “get to the point” people.

This ‘get to the point’ point is nonsense.

Storytelling doesn’t sacrifice the functional and pragmatic and practical … it actually elevates it to ts highest value.

I could argue that stories are the essential driver of value, change & persuasion … throughout the history of business.

Look.

I would never tell a business to not show the numbers, graphs and facts. It is important.

But strategic use of a good story can make those same bland things surprise people, make them become compelling characters in a story and instead of being cold hard facts laying on a page they can become things that make us think & feel.

Story telling is important in that it engages people, communicates relevant meaningful information, builds value on some things that can often be difficult to build value on and, ultimately, it makes you, your product or service & your company distinct.

Why? Because it has a story to tell.

The business world is full of stories, and from time to time they permit themselves to be told …

That actually means we are on our own. We have no rights, no privileges, no nothing to support or comfort our existence except what we choose to provide each other.

That said.

Let me make sure we are all on the same page with regard to ”rights” … which means you need to ponder rights, freedom, liberty, prerogative and privilege.

All of these are words which refer to the fundamental claims a person can properly make or his unfettered ability to choose <Use The Right Word: S.I. Hayakawa>.

Right suggests a concrete claim established by legal, ethical or religious sanctions <e.g., right to equality before the law>. Although … someone claiming a right tends to argue it is inherent, a person’s rights are differently spelled out in different cultures & countries.

Liberty is a more abstract and general notion suggesting the opportunity to choose among alternatives. A document such as the Bill of Rights spells out these conditions a citizen may construe as his rights. However … these liberties may sometimes in fact refer to an unwarranted breach of someone else’s right to consideration <we do not enjoy unbridled liberty without regard for the rights of others>.

Civil liberty is understood to refer to all the rights enumerated in the US Constitution and its amendments.

Freedom is close to liberty in its abstract generality but stresses a total lack of constraint more than the opportunity for choice.

Prerogative and privilege are much more specific in their meanings than the other words here. Prerogative refers to a right that one has by virtue of age, sex or position.

Privilege suggests advantages given as favors or added luxuries rather than necessary rights.

I share all that to point out that while we may complicate our lives by confusing all these dynamics we also complicate our lives unnecessarily.

Anyway.

We tend to complicate our lives in a number of ways.

Sometimes it is we feel like Life, or the universe, should be a little more helpful.

Sometimes we confuse privileges and rights.

Sometimes we seek an easier path because the way we are going seems a little too hard.

Sometimes we abuse rights in the pursuit of bad things.

Sometimes we assume privileges with regard to desire of good things.

============

“People tend to complicate their lives, as if living weren’t already complicated enough.”

—

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

=============

“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

—-

Søren Kierkegaard

===========

Far too often we view freedoms as freedom to be stupid, idiotic or thoughtless.

Specifically, far too often we view freedom of speech as a way to shared well-articulated insightful thoughts to better the world around them imply because … well … we were fortunate enough to be nearby when speech, freely given, was shared.

Well.

Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom to say only smart things. It also means freedom to be stupid, idiotic and thoughtless.

And, yet, as John Stuart Mill argued in “On Liberty,” freedom of expression is the freedom on which all other civic rights are based <someone should remind our President of this>.

Now.

I do believe those who speak have a responsibility to be … well … responsible. Freedom of speech, and expression, is a privilege not to be abused. But that is my opinion.

Just mine.

However … stupidity aside … I would rather someone speak, regardless of what is said opinion wise, than for there to be silence. In a world in which we complicate our lives and confuse liberties and freedoms and privileges … we shouldn’t shut up. And we shouldn’t simply shut off someone because they confuse all these things.

Here is the real truth:

=========

“Idiocy thrives in the dark, not in dialogue.”

—-

Jen Floyd Engel columnist

=====

I have had this debate, sometimes argument, with several people.

I want neo-Nazis peaking on campuses.

I want feminists raging through megaphones on stand at street corners.

I want pro Life & pro Choice advocates debating on stages throughout America.

I want the most extreme of all sides and dimensions and directions to publicly have the opportunity to speak out.

First of all.

We should all want that.

We, here in the USA, actually live in a country where unless you shout “fire” in some movie theater or seriously offer harmful threats you actually have the privilege & right to speak your mind. This is a gift that USA gives its citizens … a gift many of the 192 countries around the world are not so quick to give their citizens.

Second.

We should abhor silence.

It seems to me that we are quickly heading down a path where the only opinions safe to say out loud are the benign most milquetoast ‘safe havens’ of speech … Hitler was bad, genocide is bad, beets are bad <oops, that last one was just a personal benign opinion>.

We say we want honesty.

We say we want to hear the truth.

We say we want free speech.

And yet we are relentless in chastising those who choose to speak … and the words they choose to speak are wrong, maybe even stupid and possibly ignorant.

Uhm. This makes me say …

“I have met the enemy and the enemy is us.”

I do believe we are in the midst of a crisis of truth, ignorance and enlightenment … and freedoms, rights & privileges.

And it is an odd crisis in that we may actually speak up and out … but constantly get trapped in some simplistic dualisms — liberalism versus authoritarianism, Islam versus … well … Christianity/America/constitution/etc., white versus non white, intellectual versus nonintellectual, urban versus rural … and any other dualism thing you want to add.

But our issues seem to be more complex than ‘if this or maybe that.’

Our issues get compounded by the natural ebb & flow of “rights” <speech, religion, press, etc.> and what we believe is … well … right … all combined with the unfortunate situation that the everyday person struggles to discerns fact from fiction <and our current President has created his own fictional alternative universe in which his ‘facts’ exist and he wants to manage the narrative as ‘his universe depicting reality>.

We complicate our lives needlessly.

And while Alexis de Tocqueville suggested in the 1830s that the American promise of meritocracy, its uniformity of culture and manners, and “equality of conditions” would make for immoderate ambition, corrosive envy and chronic dissatisfaction and could swell “to the height of fury” and lead many to acquiesce in a curtailment of their liberties all leading to a longing for the rule of a strongman … I do not agree.

No matter how divisive we may get and no matter how much we complicate our own lives and how much we may confuse what we deserve and what we earn … what is a privilege and what is a right … all of our freedoms & rights are grounded in the one unchangeable thing we have … the constitution.

That said. I am reminded of some words written by William Martin in his fabulous book “The Lost Constitution”:

=======

“A real American will tell you that our Constitution is not a tool for politicians hoping to make points, whether it is a cynical Republican pushing flag burning amendments because their poll numbers are down or a do-gooding Democrat who decides to protect ourselves by banning guns. The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they made the Constitution difficult to amend, so let’s think hard before we mess with it.

What it says is what t said two hundred years ago. I think the men who set their thoughts down here were men who cared about America. Some of them believed in a strong central government, some believed that government governs best which governs least, but all of them believed in the ability of thinking Americans to get up in the morning and resolve their differences and solve their problems. And we have lost that in this country.

The framers created a means of changing this document because they understood that the world would change. But they didn’t want to make it easy. So it up to you, the people, pick up your newspaper and read them, and think about what you read, and don’t always believe what you hear just because it is what you want to hear,. And don’t listen to what you want to hear because you hear it from somebody who shouts it loud or makes you laugh. The constitution demands more. Don’t believe the people who vote straight democrat any more than you believe the people who befoul the airwaves with rightist rhetoric every day. The theme, on every night, is that we are all American. “

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It is an odd place we are in today.

It seems like never have so many free individuals felt so helpless and in their helpless feeling many people seem almost desperate to wrest control from anyone, and institutions in particular, they can blame for their feeling ‘lostness’ <however you would like to define lost>.

As I finish up this piece today it seems important to remind everyone that freedom of speech is just that … freedom of speech – and that freedom of speech is the foundation upon which all civil liberties reside.

I would rather idiocy, our confusion about what we deserve and do not deserve, be discussed rather than have to thrive in the darkness of silent strength.

“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges.

They may be Mohometans, Jews or Christians of any sect, or they may be atheists.”

—–

George Washington

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Ok.

I have commented several times on what I would consider a needless “travel ban” but Donald J’s insistence to issue a new improved travel ban under the guise of national security has inspired me to comment one more time.

When the best thing anyone can say about some initiative you are attempting to implement is:

… call new travel ban ‘a good overhaul’ that will ‘stand legal scrutiny’

… well … you are in trouble. I don’t really ever want the main reason to do something to be “it is legal.” I would much prefer my number 1 reason everyone wants to do something be … well … it is a damn good idea.

Look.

I am all for national security.

And I do believe a president has the right to take some extraordinary actions with the best intentions of citizens in mind.

But that is where I hesitate on this … my sense is that this whole travel ban is in the best interest of one citizen … Donald J Trump and his ego.

Since the 80’s death in the US by terrorism is around 3500 plus <including 9/11> in the same time there has been 60.000 work place related death and 900.000 death by gun violence.

Read any report you want and you can find little to point to these countries as ‘terrorist pipelines to America’ as well as anything that would suggest our current vetting process and immigration policy is flawed enough to permit an influx of terrorists.

But I imagine all could be resolved in my mind with answers to two basic questions:

You were urgent in the initial ban with regard to our security and concerns with vetting … what specifically have you done in the past month to shore it up <because I assume it was important enough you didn’t just take your ball home sulking>?

What can you do now, in a pause, which you couldn’t do in the past 4 weeks? <what specific benefit does the ‘pause’ give us>

Answer those well and I will reconsider my view on this and maybe even get off your back.

Here is what I know as a business guy.

Empty promises fulfilled … remain empty.

Most business leaders are very careful with regard to what they promise their employees. And then … even when promising something … they are even more careful about fulfilling any stated promise. The latter is maybe even more important than the former.

Nothing kills a business leader faster than asking employees to do something simply to do something <and it is not a priority need for energy>.

That has always been the flaw in “doing what you said you would do.” if what you say is wrong, stupid, silly or ignorant than doing is simply a reflection of … well … all those things.

In the business world we call that wasted energy or a ‘completed wrong.’

This is when a business leader forces action simply to prove a point.

This is when an organization starts losing respect for a leader.

In today’ business world most businesses run so lean being able to effectively prioritize resources and energy is possibly the most important skill a leader can bring to an organization.

Employees do not suffer fools lightly.

And maybe that is why I will continue to crush Donald J for his lack of leadership skills.

Yes. He made a stupid promise while campaigning.

Yes. He tried to fulfill the stupid promise stupidly a month ago.

But he had an opportunity to right all wrongs in one fell swoop in this place and time … and a good leader would have seen the opportunity.

All he had to do was stand up in front of a microphone and a gazillion cameras <and hopefully a teleprompter> and said …

“I continue to believe the original ban was the best thing for America but I honored the decision made by our judiciary system and honored the ‘ban pause’ … but I, and we, did not pause in our efforts to keep people safe & secure … over the past week the following departments <name them> have done these things <list them> and have already begun implementing my <incredibly stupidly called> extreme vetting process. While it would have been easier for the people protecting you to have done this during a pause they never wavered in their determined effort to close the holes in the vetting process and I have decided to put the entire travel ban on hold until there may come a time where we identify a need to pause to further improve the process.”

And in one simple long paragraph explanation he has fulfilled his promise and stopped any wasted energy … and even gets some points on leadership.

Did he do this? Are you fucking nuts? I bet this didn’t even cross his mind.

Leaders always have choices when they make a decision.

With regard to this one I sense the main Trumpian business flaw – transactional versus strategic.

My fear is Trump views immigration as a transaction between the ‘incoming’ and the country – “here is what you are buying and if you buy it you have committed to it.” This comes to Life most easily in how he discusses a ‘merit based’ immigration policy but it also hides among words like “people who value our values and think America is great.”

If I view immigration transactionally <unless I view it through a ‘lifetime value lens’> I will inevitably misjudge the value of the transaction.

Immigration is more like a long term contract in which both parties have commitments.

“I am offering you a long term contact in which I will provide you rights, privileges, freedoms and opportunities <that is my promise in this contract> and you will provide a commitment to the Constitution, working hard and embracing the freedoms found with american society <with respect>.”

In a mutually beneficial contract both parties receive value.

In a mutually beneficial contract both parties are equal … one party is not subservient to the other.

Look.

I do believe America is great <for a variety of reasons>. But I have said this before and I will say this again … to make America even greater I shouldn’t be keeping people out I should be strengthening the idea, and values, of America to a point where the right people self select wanting to be part of the idea of America.

And an unintended consequence <actually an intended one> if I approach immigration that way is I also strengthen the idea of America for current Americans which strengthens who we are, what we believe and how we behave.

In the end.

This revised travel ban is stupid.

It has all the signs of the kind of thing a petulant leader does simply to make a point.

And, worse? It diverts energy & resources at a time where we should be assessing energy & resources as ‘most efficient use.’

He is a horrible business leader taking his horrible lack of leadership skills into the presidency.

I am tired of watching incompetent leadership and watch you hide behind tweets instead of taking responsibility for your actions … as well as your thoughts. I am also tired of your lack of leadership and seeming lack of desire to reach out to your ultimate responsibility – 330 million people or so <not just the ones who got up off their happy asses and voted for you>. And I am really tired of seeing you have no fucking idea how to do your job.

So, while I abhor almost every tactic you seem to want to do, let me tell you how to actually do what you want to do <so you can actually do your job>:

Immigration part 1: who we let in to USA.

Let me be clear.

The security of our people is utmost in my mind.

And I reviewed everything knowing that even if we do everything right there is no guarantee we will never have a terrorist succeed on American soil.

Ok.

That said.

My 7 country ban, particularly Iraq where I — as commander in chief — have my soldiers fighting side by side with soldiers who have relatives who would like to come to the USA, was stupid.

So.

Here is what is really going to happen.

There is no 7 country ban. In fact … we will never ban an entire country unless there is a specific threat identified.

Next.

I have reviewed the vetting process with regard to the people who we invite into our country to either work or stay with becoming a citizen in mind. Our vetting process is the toughest in the world. It takes almost 2 years and 7 agencies reviewing to allow someone’s ass into the USA.

It is also different than Europe’s in these ways <list them for people>.

Our comprehensive vetting conducted by the best professionals USA has to offer is the main reason our vetting process has never permitted a terrorist in through our immigration process since 2001.

I was dumb with regard to my recent “no one comes in for 90 days” because our vetting process really is pretty good despite what all those dishonest people in Congress have been fear-mongering telling you.

That doesn’t mean we will not make some minor adjustments to strengthen some of the potential loopholes but we will maintain our vigilant vetting process which Homeland security, the state department and other 5 departments associated with vetting have managed with excellence since 9/11.

However.

We do need to make improvements on our Visa program.

We are making these three changes to our visa program <list them and explain them>.

<I don’t know enough what to tell you to do … have one of your flunkies how misguided you on your current immigration plan figure it out>

Now.

Yes.

I am going to limit the number of refugees and immigrants we permit into the country. By a lot. We will still permit some but not many – for a while. Here is what I want to do … I want to tie how many more people we will allow in to how many current illegal immigrants we deport or permit to stay. As the number of illegal immigrants in the United States declines, the number of immigrants & refugees we allow in increases.

This is not to suggest we will ever have a ‘quota’ … because we will not … however, we need to have a legal citizenry aligned behind the Constitutional values and this is my plan to do that.

Immigration part 2: the wall

It is our border. It is our responsibility. We will pay for it.

We will build a physical wall of constructed wall as well as a people wall. We will increase existing fencing, support it with additional physical wall construction in strategic areas and hire an additional 5000 border agents to manage the border wall.

Now.

I will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for several things:

From this day forward the smart wily illegal immigrants who beat our wall that we catch … we will deport. We ask Mexico to reimburse us for legal and transportation costs. Let’s call this our expense report for returning their citizens.

Because we would like to encourage gainful employment of Mexican citizens so that they do not try and illegally immigrate to our great booming economy <which only I can create> we would like to earn an employment incentive assessment on each Mexican employee our USA companies hire at their facilities in Mexico.

Immigration part 3: undocumented immigrants

We are now offering a one time legal waiver to any immigrant who walks into their local city hall and registers as an immigrant either seeking a short term work visa or a long term path to citizenship. We are simply asking you to declare your intentions and you will not be deported. Once registered you will either receive a work visa with a specific USA legal time frame you can work and responsibilities associated or the plan of action, responsibilities and timeline to gain your citizenship.

Note.

We will offer a onetime legal waiver for all businesses who report the shift of undocumented to newly registered immigrant employees.

In addition.

From this day forward any registered immigrant, not a citizen, receiving anything more than a misdemeanor will be deported. We will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for that.

From this day forward, once the one time legal waiver period is over, any unregistered immigrant will be deported. We will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for that.

Immigration part 4: Dreamers

We will not deport one Dreamer who is either in school or gainfully employed <or about to be employed>.

All of the Dreamers who have contributed to USA and have plans to contribute are already part of the fabric of America and we have no desire tearing you out of it.

America First National Language.

Here is the crazy thing I found out when I took this job … we do not have a national language. I want to change that. If you live in USA you should be able to speak English. Heck. All my wives did that so everyone else should. This doesn’t mean you cannot have a business focused on using another language nor does it not permit you to speak any language you want at any time … we just want everyone to be able to speak to each other in a common language in schools, public events and within any national discourse. We want Americans to speak English <even though I do not do so very well myself>.

America First business strategy

As of June 1, 2017 we will be dropping the corporate tax to x%.

In addition. We will offer a “kicker” tax break of an additional 10% cut for every additional dollar you reinvest in America operations from the profit dollars you just gained from the lower tax rate or additional dollars invested versus year prior.

In addition. We will be assessing an employee tax <based on their salary> on every overseas employee for multinational companies. We will have three levels of taxes <I made that up … but Trump makes up shit too>, based on whether they could be employed in the USA or not, and you can apply for the appropriate tax rate for each employee.

We will be fair but make no mistake … we want every employee who should be working in America … working in America.

America First Regulation strategy

I see now that my whole “eliminate two regulations for each one added” was bullshit.

So.

As of June 1, 2017 we will have eliminated 20% of all existing regulations. That is my goal and I have asked the Cabinet members to approach this objective responsibly but with the intent to <a> decrease the burden on businesses and <b> limit restrictions on growth industries. We will do this responsibly taking into consideration environmental concerns but with the intent to enable American businesses to take a leap forward.

That is my first promise to America.

My second promise is to have my entire Cabinet present a review of all the regulation cuts to Congress and the American people on June 1, 2019. At that time we will reassess regulations and repercussions of any regulation cuts.

Trumpcare:

We are repealing and replacing Obamacare. While the idea is worthy the construct is flawed and I, and only I, can fix this mess.

Okay. I will be honest. It’s really not that bad and there are a bunch of things we want to keep and make work better.

Beginning on January 1, 2018 we will permit health insurance companies to work across state borders to increase local competition and increase plan options for people. We will bla bla bla to make quality healthcare accessible to everyone, even people with preexisting conditions, seniors and low income people. We will also deregulate the ‘telehealth’ industry and permit small health accounts for younger healthy people from which the government will only assess fees when used.

Economy.

Of all the things I have discussed so far … the best thing for American security, the number one weapon against terrorism and the best gift we can give every American household is a better economy. When people have opportunities for better income, better lives and better opportunities people are happier, healthier … and safer because less people are unhappy. Just tell the Democrats to approve my lack-of any-moral compass billionaire economic Cabinet members so I can make America’s economy great again because I need them to make it all happen <and I will be seen as the great President I know that I am>.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Trump

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Please note, President Trump, I do not agree with everything here nor am I smart enough to have thought through all the details, but I was able to think thru this in one afternoon and it looks more sensible then anything you have offered yet.

I would note you have shown no signs that you can coherently articulate a coherent strategy, nor tactics, so I have attempted to do your job for you so that maybe you can get your ass out of the crack you put it in.

As for being a man?

First. Try using some of these words … they reflect some harsh truths which your citizens deserve, and the truth … well … truth trumps fear anytime.

Second. Try sharing these words in something other than a tweet or sending someone else out to communicate it for you. Stand up in front of your people, your citizens, and take some responsibility and be a frickin’ man about all of this <you incompetent hack — said under my breath>.